Drafted by the Cavs 10 days before LeBron James left Ohio, the rookie went through the gauntlet of emotions before arriving where he is now as the expected future face of the franchise. But the 19-year-old Atlantan isn’t shy about his abilities, and is ready to step into at least part of the leadership void left by James.

“Honestly, I felt like at Alabama I turned into a leader very fast, very quick,” Sexton said on Wednesday after scoring 25 points in the Cavs’ summer league win over the Sacramento Kings. “So it’s just going to translate. But it’s a different group of guys now, especially since they’re older, they have egos.”

It’s not known if veterans like Kevin Love and J.R. Smith will be with the Cavs when the regular season starts, leaving players like Osman and Zizic to be in “next man up” mode.

Yet in Sexton, the Cavs have a potentially explosive scorer at the point guard position – much like what transpired after the last time James bolted Cleveland and the Cavs later drafted Kyrie Irving.

Sexton is not Irving, even if he has his old number. But he’s confident in his ability be an NBA scorer and run the pick-and-roll.